The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-10-28
ARE THERE WILD HoRSES2
A Writer Gives Some Very Interesting
Information on the Subject.

A Writer Gives Some Very Interesting
Information on the Subject.
At recent meeting of the Bombay Nat
ural Historical Society, paper was read ny
J. H. Steele on the subject Of ovid
Horses from which the following is taken I:
is there such thing rs a wild horse, an
aboriginal or truly wild horse, IN the Worlu
now! The answer is more than doubtful
The mustang of Mexico, the wild horse o.
the South American pampas, the brumbl OF
Australia, are all descendants OF the dolnes-
ticated animals introduced from Europe.
The first horse was landed in America at
Buenos Ayres in 1881 In 1880 that is, III
less than fifty years-horses had spread 10
regions as remote as Patagonia In
Australia the diffusion of horses
that have escaped from civilization
has been quite as rapid, and IN
1875 it was found necessary TO shoot as
many as 1000 wild horses in the colony OF
New South Wales alone. In some parts OF
Australia the l@rse pest has received legls-
lative notice. The wild horses tempt DO,
mesticated horses to join them, and wild
stations also invade the Australian horse
runs and vltiate choice herds in a most an
noying manner. They recur to the ances-
trail manners in way that is always the
same. Each stallion, Mr.. Steele tells US,
has his following of mares, ranging from
a few up TO forty or even fifty, and these
parties may be separate or banded to-
gether into herds of considerable size, even,
it is said, 400 strong. The young and the
weak males remain with scanty or even
no following. The stallion has to main
tain his supremacy by frequent combats,
which especially occur at certain seasons
of the year. The animals are suspicious
in the extreme, swift in flight, but bold
in defense with tooth and heel in emer-
gency They range extensively in search of
pasture and water, and when hard pressed
by danger and famine the herds break up.
1t is said that each troop has a leader and
implicitly obeys him. He is the first to face
danger and give the hint to fly. When
pressed the horses form a ring, with the
mares and foals in the centre, and defend
themselves vigorously with their heels, on
they close in on their opponent in dense
masses and trample him to death. 1t is dis
tinctly proved, then, that there can be no
aboriginal or wild horse in either America
or Australia, although there are tens of
thousands of unowned horses. Tradition
points to Central Asia as the aboriginal
abode of the horse, and there the original
stock of wild horses may still possibly exist.
Darwins statement that no aboriginal or
truly wild horse is known to exist must still
be held as explaining the exact position
of this question; but, says Mr..
Steele, we must supplement it by
stating that 1T is not certain that truly wild
horses do not exist and, on the whole, Mr..
Steele concludes that the evidence is in ia
vor of the existence of the wild horse in
Central Asia, but that we have no evidence
as to his pedigree in relation to domestica-
ton. The wild horse of the British islands
is now practically the Shetland pony. but
he is not the powerful animal described by
Caesar. The domesticated animal every
where, however, reverts very easily to the
savage state, and of the wild horse, so con-
sidered, Mr.. Steele has much to tell us. His
PAGES are walk and gallop The double
and the centre are artificial, and it is still a
mooted question as to whether the wild
horse ever trotS"